New Delhi, Jun 5 A Delhi court has acquitted a man accused of attempting to murder his ex-wife with a knife as it said the prosecution failed to produce any evidence connecting him with the alleged offence after the complainant and key witnesses turned hostile.
Principal District and Sessions Judge Sanjay Sharma was hearing a case against Raj Kohli alias Raju, who was accused of attempting to murder his ex-wife, Muskan, by stabbing her with a knife in 2024.
In an order dated June 3, the court said, "There is nothing on record to connect the present accused with the offence alleged against him. The prosecution has failed to prove its case against the accused altogether. In the absence of any incriminating evidence on record, accused Raj Kohli is acquitted."
According to the prosecution, complainant Muskan alleged that on December 7, 2024, after she visited a police station to lodge a complaint against her husband, Raj Kohli followed her near the Dharampura red light in northeast Delhi. She further alleged that he attacked her with multiple knife blows with the intention to kill her. She suffered grievous injuries and was admitted to hospital.
During the trial, however, Muskan did not appear before the court despite repeated summons and was eventually dropped from the list of witnesses.
The court noted that Muskan's mother Haseena, brother Noor and the lone cited eyewitness Vinod, all turned hostile and did not attribute any role to the accused in the incident.
Haseena denied portions of her previous statement in which she had allegedly claimed that Raj Kohli took Muskan aside before attacking her. Vinod, projected as an eyewitness, also denied having seen the accused assault the victim. Noor similarly stated that he did not know who had caused injuries to his sister.
Medical witnesses proved that Muskan had sustained grievous injuries and remained hospitalised for several days, but the court observed that the medical evidence alone could not establish the identity of the assailant.
"None of the prosecution witness has alleged any overt act against the accused," the judge said.
The court held that the complaint forming the basis of the case remained unproved as the complainant herself did not testify and no witness connected the accused to the alleged attack.
It then acquitted Raj Kohli of the attempt to murder charge framed against him.
